I ran my lucky #7 outing at Dove Canyon Golf Club Monday and man did we luck out with the weather system deciding to come a day later than the original forecast. The day was beautiful and perfectly ti... Continue »

I ran my lucky #7 outing at Dove Canyon Golf Club Monday and man did we luck out with the weather system deciding to come a day later than the original forecast. The day was beautiful and perfectly timed as it was the debut of the Vivid Golf tent, soon to be the Vivid Golf Fun Tent at our future private course outings and GK events. Rgm2323 and I drove down from Chatsworth, leaving at 5:30am, popped into McDonalds for quick breakfast ($16? what? – my delicious signature Nicklaus wrap at the club was only $7.5), arriving at 7:30am with no traffic. Met up with Itslikeimsayin to do some video for Vivid Golf’s new Rumble Speaker while rgm2525 and sparky14 took on a full showing 123 players check-in. Thanks!

In the 7 times I’ve play Dove Canyon Golf Club, the greens are always in great shape, the fairways / rough dormant in the Winter / Spring, lush in the Summer / Fall, excellent bunkers and well-maintained tee boxes.

As for the layout, Mr. Nicklaus nailed it with this one. It’s one of the few Jack Nicklaus Signature Courses in Southern California and it’s a blast to play. I put its back-9 in my top 10 I’ve played in SoCal.

From an outing organizer’s perspective, the service is top-notch, the facilities gorgeous, exceptional driving range, delicious food (Jack’s Grill), stunning views and again a golf course our group very much enjoys playing.

Thank you everyone that plays in Greenskeeper.org events! :)

Played in group 1B of yesterday’s Vivid Golf/GK private club outing here. Gorgeous weather and great times with Johnny, Steve, and Ron. Pace was pretty typical for these events, around 5 hours from fi... Continue »

Played in group 1B of yesterday’s Vivid Golf/GK private club outing here. Gorgeous weather and great times with Johnny, Steve, and Ron. Pace was pretty typical for these events, around 5 hours from first drive to final putt. We stopped at Jack’s Den to pick up lunch and the on-cart ordering system makes it quick and easy, and the food is good and affordable. All club staff I encountered were great.

Conditions are good, highlighted by fast, firm greens. They were very smooth and quick, and even well-struck full shots took a bounce before stopping, and shorter shots and chips were very difficult to get any bite. The 8th green had some bare spots and curiously, they opted to cut the hole very near those areas. Fairways had good coverage of dormant bermuda but were thin in many spots, providing very little cushion under the ball and putting a premium on a clean strike. Rough was a little longer but not overly penal. Tee boxes and bunkers were both good, not great.

I really like how the course layout gains momentum throughout the round. The first three holes are generic, housing-tract holes (although 2 & 3 are both really tough par 4s), then the interest level amps up for the rest of the front nine. I think the course shines brightest on the back nine, though, and the whole back nine is fun and beautiful — 10, 11, 16, 17, and 18 are all standouts. All in all, a really great day and definitely recommended anytime you get a chance to play here.

I mirror Mark's review of yesterday's fun round!! He's spot on with just about everything except I would include the bunkers that I found were hard clay about an inch under the soft sand. Furthermo... Continue »

I mirror Mark's review of yesterday's fun round!! He's spot on with just about everything except I would include the bunkers that I found were hard clay about an inch under the soft sand. Furthermore, I was in a couple diabolically deep bunkers which made it impossible to get the ball up in the air quickly, ruining any chance for an up and down. Oh well, just this minor complaint. Otherwise, the course is killer!! Thanks Johnny for organizing another great day. Always great to see you.

Played here today in group 1A of the Vivid Golf/Golf Moose/GK private club outing. Great times with David and Tom! My daughter rode along as a non-playing spectator, too, which was super fun. Beautifu... Continue »

Played here today in group 1A of the Vivid Golf/Golf Moose/GK private club outing. Great times with David and Tom! My daughter rode along as a non-playing spectator, too, which was super fun. Beautiful day with hot temperatures and very little wind. POP was pretty standard for these events at around 5:00. Food from "Jack's Den" snack bar was very good and affordably priced for a high-end private club. The representative from the club who gave instructions was extremely welcoming and seemed like he was really happy to be able to host the group today, which is nice. Four holes in addition to the par 3s were CPO.

Conditions are quite good. The greens rolled smooth, medium-fast, and accepted full shots very well. They are tricky to read and some have significant slope to contend with, making putting fun. Downhillers could get sneaky fast. (Despite me saying the greens were smooth, both David and Tom had some bumpy putts.) Fairways were mostly very nice, light green bermuda with occasional brown spots here and there. Balls sat up well and the fairways provided nice lies all day. At least one hole (5, maybe others) had GUR areas staked off in the fairway. The rough seemed to be a mix of bermuda and kikuyu; not too deep but it looked like some balls could settle down in, especially in the bermuda. Blue tees were all very nice, level, and well maintained. I think I was in four bunkers and they were mostly good. In one, my ball settled into a poorly raked area that was not quite a footprint but definitely an indentation lower than the rest of the bunker.

I had played here once or twice previously many years ago but really didn't remember much except for a few holes. I really loved it today. The back nine is definitely a step up from the front. The front is good but more residential, while the back explores more natural terrain and brings in more elevation changes. (Still some houses on some holes, though.) The par-3 17th may be one of the "Most Downhill" holes I've ever played... would love to know the elevation change from tee to green. For the inexperienced, the routing seems confusing and signage is a little lacking, but I guess the only people who really need directions are unaccompanied non-members. (Hole numbers on the "Map" feature on the GPS would be helpful. Currently only the hole diagrams are there with no numbers to indicate which hole is which.) GPS was nice with yardage to the pin and the ability to order food.

Overall, an excellent day and highly recommended. Here's hoping they hold another event here soon.

Took advantage of an invite to play Dove. Being right next door to Coto makes it so convenient. Wish that Coto/Dove had a reciprocity deal to allow occasional limited play. Have always enjoyed playing... Continue »

Took advantage of an invite to play Dove. Being right next door to Coto makes it so convenient. Wish that Coto/Dove had a reciprocity deal to allow occasional limited play. Have always enjoyed playing this course. I find the layout very interesting. My complaint years ago was that Dove was not walker friendly, but now, I no longer object to the cart. Conditions were good. Greens not as quick as I'm used to, but they rolled true and were receptive. Good coverage in the fairways. Rough not as penal as I remember it being. Fun day golfing on a beautiful summer day. Does not get much better than that.

Took part in the Golf Moose/GK outing on the 31st at Dove Canyon. Joined fellow GKers, Tom McDonald, Mike Dunbar, and Jerry (who's last name I have forgotten, sorry) on a warm, humid day. Let me prefa... Continue »

Took part in the Golf Moose/GK outing on the 31st at Dove Canyon. Joined fellow GKers, Tom McDonald, Mike Dunbar, and Jerry (who's last name I have forgotten, sorry) on a warm, humid day. Let me preface this by saying I have played Dove Canyon a number of times over the years and really enjoy the layout, which has a lot of elevation change with numerous bunkers. Many of the bunkers are quite deep and have very limited sand, making playing conditions very challenging.

Conditions were "okay", but for a private course I would call them disappointing. Tee boxes, were generally fairly lush (white tees), but a few could have been more level and par threes had some divot damage. Fairways were solid, very lush, but did limit rollout as the grass is kept longer to protect it from the heat. Greens were disappointing, not really fast or very smooth with lots of balls marks. Bunkers were horrible with very limited sand in most green side bunkers. A few of the fairway bunkers had fluffy sand, which was annoying when the green side bunkers had very little sand.

Pace of play was very slow at over 5 hours, which I have come to expect at these events. Of course, I would really like to try to play this type of challenging course at a normal pace to see if I play better. Just feel like the last 4 or 5 holes, I am just drained after being out on the course so long.

Hard for me recommend this course as I find the layout to be strong and would say it is an 8 to 8.5 for me, but conditions I would rate as "meh" or around 5 or 6.

Hats off to Johnny and Ron for the work they put into these events. Thanks very much.

I've always loved the design of Dove Canyon however conditions are pretty bad at the moment. You would think that after the amount of rain received in this upslope area of South OC that the course wou... Continue »

I've always loved the design of Dove Canyon however conditions are pretty bad at the moment. You would think that after the amount of rain received in this upslope area of South OC that the course would be softer than it was. Tee, fairways, greens were rock hard and all dormant Bermuda. Today the pin positions were unnecessarily hard with most locations on pinnacles with false fronts and sides dropping off ten feet into hard pan rough filled with divots. Balls only stopped in fairways by either by rolling into a divot or some aeration hole. Didn't make a single ball mark on greens even as ball bounced five feet in air. Green surrounds were filled with broccoli type tufts of grass that would ping pong your ball either left or right.

Don't know how members deal with these conditions. Granted winter is probably the worst time of year but this was abnormally bad.

Played here on Monday 8/8 as part of a GK/GolfMoose outing. Nothing but good things to say about this place! It was perfect from tee to green. Clubhouse was beautiful, staff was amazing, practice faci... Continue »

Played here on Monday 8/8 as part of a GK/GolfMoose outing. Nothing but good things to say about this place! It was perfect from tee to green. Clubhouse was beautiful, staff was amazing, practice facilities were great (driving range/chipping green/putting green).

It's a Jack Nicklaus signature design, which are always fun to play, and it shows. Great layout with some really fun and unique holes, such as the par-3 17th, which is STRAIGHT DOWNHILL. The par-3 10th is, too, but 17 is like 40 yards' worth. Lots of bunkers, both around the greens and in the fairways, a little bit of water, and a few forced carries. Plenty of tee options to choose from, so you can challenge yourself as much or as little as you like.

Dove Canyon Golf Club is a very well designed Nicklaus Championship golf course that offers a variety of golf holes that are fun, interesting, and challenging. The course is built onto a scenic mounta... Continue »

Dove Canyon Golf Club is a very well designed Nicklaus Championship golf course that offers a variety of golf holes that are fun, interesting, and challenging. The course is built onto a scenic mountainside that features views of localized mountains and some local housing. This gorgeous course features large mature trees, strategic bunkering throughout, several elevation changes, along with limited water hazards. In some ways the layout reminds me of Nicklaus designed courses played in Cabo, without the Pacific Ocean or Gulf of California. DCGC places premium on accuracy off the tee as you are hitting into mid-sized fairways, and into small to mid-sized greens from the fairway or on par 3s. The course defends itself with well positioned bunkers, medium length rough, and fast sloped greens. There were a few doglegs, but no blind shots. The course was always a fair challenge but required the execution of quality shots at all times, as being offline here introduced difficulty to achieve recovery. The course played its yardage, and fairways provided moderate roll out on drives and approaches. The course is well maintained and in overall above-average condition. The course layout is rated a 5 out of 5, conditions are rated a 4.23 out of 5. I note the following: Tee Boxes: Level and green, no damage. Condition above average. Fairways: Green, lush, and defined from rough. Grabby with limited rollout. Condition above average. Greens: Green, medium-fast in speed, on the medium to firm side, and tricky to read at times. Speed about a 10.5. Conditions could be better, but still better than average. Sand: Maintained with excellent consistency. Condition excellent. Rough: Maintained and defined, about 3 – 5 inches. Condition excellent. Waste Areas: Maintained with overgrown nature that offered little to no recovery potential. Condition excellent. Driving Range: The range is flat and fully grassed, hitting off an artificial turf surface. Markers from 100 - 255 yards. Range balls were quality generic rangers. Condition excellent. Practice Area: chipping area and green present. Condition excellent. Practice Putting Green: One mid-size practice putting green was noted, in excellent condition. Speed of the practice putting green was consistent with course. POP: 4.75 hours – very limited wait was encountered, all good. We paced ourselves accordingly. Other: Noted a beautiful clubhouse, restaurant, and golf shop, all appeared high grade. DCGC is a True Golf Experience. Certainly another Nicklaus Player's Course. This is a great golf layout without a doubt, that requires a decent golf game to score. I loved this track and hope to be able to play it again in the future. Fully Endorsed! Thank you Johnny and GreensKeeper.org for this GK Outing!